Smart Wings of the Jurassic

Evolution is nature's great R&D division. Through mutation, natural selection, and other processes, life can find new solutions for the challenge of staying alive. It's possible to see a simplified version of this problem solving at work in the lab. The genetic molecule RNA, for example, can evolve into shapes that allow it to do things no one ever expected RNA to do, like join together amino acids. Over millions of years, evolution can solve far bigger problems. How can a mammal became an efficient swimmer? How can a bug fly? Humans would like to build ocean-going vehicles as efficient as dolphins, and miniature robots as efficient as flies. For these and many other wish-list items, researchers are turning to the products of evolution for inspiration. Last year in Popular Science I wrote about one of the most interesting people doing this kind of work right now, the Macarthur genius ...